Quiet as the Snow
by WritersBlock2018
Summary: I sit alone in the quiet of my cell. The Governor has made sure that the people above me can never hear me. I sit alone in my cell waiting for the day I die.
1. Chapter 1

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

I wasn't for sure what was dripping, I just knew that it was making a loud noise. It could have been blood, water, urine, but because of the cloth covering my eyes, I wouldn't know.

The Governor had been down a while ago, but he didn't come to see me. Judging by the screams down the hall, he was visiting someone else. Even after I heard his footsteps leave, I heard people whispering, so I wasn't for sure what was actually happening. A little while later, the quiet muttering was silenced, until I heard the groaning and snarls. There was a yell, but then the sounds of squishing and then silence again.

I stayed still in the chair I was strapped to, listening for anything else, but it remained silent.

I decided to go to sleep for as long as I was allowed to. I got maybe an hour or two in before I heard the sounds of people stomping through the halls. I couldn't make out what they were saying, which made my heart pick up. _Who is down here?_

They make it all the way down the hall and open the metal door, making it creak and scrape the floor and the sides of the wall. I hear continued quiet talking, then silence and a single gunshot. I yelped and accidently hit my foot on my chair in my knee jerk reaction. I curse myself in my head.

I hold my breath as I wait for something to happen.

I then hear my door open and my breathing becomes more labored.

 _The Governor has finally decided to put me down. I just pray to whoever is out there listening to let it be quick._

"Holy shit." I hear a male voice breath.

"Get her out of that chair." Female.

My restraints are quickly undone and my blindfold is taken off and I cringe as some dried blood causes the cloth to have to be ripped away slightly.

I bring my hands to my chest and curl up on the chair, trying to get as far away as I can as I am surrounded.

"Hey, hey, we're not gonna hurt you. We're not gonna hurt you." A heavily accented voice tells me. I find the voice speaking to me, but I don't look him in the eye. He wore a nice, but somewhat worn out tan jacket. "Can you tell me your name?" He asks.

I just look at him, unsure what to do. There were so many people.

"Hey, let's give her some space, she looks like she's gonna pass out." An Asian man says.

They all take a tentative few feet back accept for the pretty African American woman and the man who has been talking to me.

The woman looks at me and says, "Hey, it's okay. You're safe and with people who won't hurt you. See?" She takes her hand to her sword on her back and takes it off and places it on the ground. "We don't want to hurt you. My name is Michonne. Can you tell me yours, please?" Her voice the whole time stays calm and even as she keeps eye contact with me, locking me into her.

I shake my head.

"Rick, give me your jacket."

He gives her a quizzical look and takes off his jacket.

Michonne gives him a nod then looks back at me. "Here, this will keep you warm."

 _Is it cold down here?_

I stare at it for a moment, then take it into my hands. I place it on and zip it up. I then realize how childish I must seem with how the jacket went down to my knees and my lack of speaking.

"There, that will work for now. We have a group who can take care of you. We have food, water, someone who can take care of your injuries. Will you come with us?"

I think about them for a moment. They seem genuine like Philip had been before taking on his role as The Governor. Yet, something was telling me to go with them, that they were trustworthy.

 _I know the warning signs. If they start showing them, I leave._

I nod my head slowly and begin to step out of the chair, only to fall over. I hadn't used my legs in a while. I guess they forgot how they work. Rick steps forward to help, but I whimper and try to get away from him.

Michonne then steps towards me and gently stretches out a hand. "Can I help you get up?"

I carefully take hold of her hand as she places my arm around her shoulder. I attempt to move my feet with her, but I end up just dragging along. She sighs and gingerly places her arm under my knees and goes "May I?". I raise an eyebrow and nod. She lifts me up with a little grunt and walks with me in her arms.

Michonne leaves the room, Rick trailing behind her. The Asian man looks at Michonne and goes, "I didn't realize you were this strong."

"I'm not."

The hall goes quiet.

The drive to the groups' base takes a while. Michonne and Rick road ahead with me in the back while the rest evacuated Woodbury onto a bus to bring them back in. I laid out on the seats, enjoying the sensation of being able to stretch out.

 _I can't remember the last time my muscles didn't feel so stiff._

At one point, I had finally felt relaxed enough to where I fell asleep. I had dreamed that everything I had experienced the last couple of hours was a dream itself and I had awoken to The Governor leaning over me with his favorite knife in hand.

When I woke up for real, I peered out the window tentatively to see we had slowed to a crawl as a young boy opened a gate to a prison.

I get nervous as I try to think of how I can make an escape now if I am fenced in with barbed wire and watchtowers. I begin to plan a way for me to run if things go south when we come to a stop and my door is opened by Michonne.

"Here, let's go get you fed and fixed up." She helps me sit up and carries me out again.

I am brought inside and placed in what I can guess was the cafeteria for the prison. Michonne tells me she would be back shortly and I am left with my thoughts. I glance around and take note of everything they have. They had food, but it looked like they wouldn't have much for too long, especially if they were taking in the residents of Woodbury. They have to be bringing in whatever supplies are there.

"Hey." Michonnes' voice brings me back to reality. "This is Maggie. She's going to be checking you over okay? We're gonna bring you to the infirmary first." As she says this, the other woman, Maggie, rolls a wheelchair that had been behind the table towards me. There was obviously straps on the arms at one point, but had been cut off at one point.

Michonne and Maggie get me settled into the chair and have me wheeled off through the twists and turns the prison had to offer.

Once getting to the infirmary, I am placed on the table and Maggie begins getting bandages and other supplies out. The infirmary isn't that large, but is big enough to have enough comfortable room for the office chair, the examination table and what appeared to be a metal bin that would be used for feeding livestock, but was filled with water.

"Hey," she says in a low tone voice. "I'm Maggie. Can you take off the jacket, please?"

I pause, but then begin to unzip the jacket and slowly shrug it off, wincing as it brushes against one of my many slices that was made by The Governors' blade. I hear Maggie let out a gasp and look up quickly to see her openly gapping at my body.

"I-I-I am so sorry." Her voice breaking. She clears her throat. "Um, can you take off your shirt?"

There wasn't much left of my t-shirt, it was more like a crop top at this point. I lift the piece of fabric off over my head and cover my breasts with my arm. The Governor had taken away any form of underwear I had once owned a long time ago.

Maggie drags the bin over and has a cloth and begins scrubbing my back. I let out a moan of both pain and relief of getting the caked blood that had been on my back for so long was finally being pried off. Maggie spends the next twenty minutes washing off my back and sewing me back together like a quilt and placing bandages where they need to be.

I lay on my back next, the fluffiest pillow available laid underneath me to provide some sort of cushion for my tender skin, as Maggie begins to work on my front and legs. My stomach was scarred to the point where it looked like I had a bad experience with a shredder. My legs were terribly skinny from not being used that they were disgusting to look at.

I didn't know I was crying until Maggie stopped to ask if she was hurting me.

I shook my head rapidly, feeling very choked up.

Maggie brought the basin closer to my head and I looked at her questioningly.

"I'm gonna wash your hair. I have a bar of soap, but no shampoo or conditioner. Sorry about that."

I shrugged. _I haven't even had a bath since this whole thing started, this is great._

After a few moments of cleaning and brushing the dreads and knots from my hair, Maggie begins to slow down.

"Can you speak?"

I didn't do anything for a minute, before looking down at my hands in my lap and shaking my head sadly.

"Hold on a sec." She quickly gets up and goes to a drawer, grabbing a pad with a few pages on it and a chewed on pen. "Here, this can be your voice." She tells me with a bright smile.

I tentatively take the items from her outstretched hands and look at them for a moment as Maggie goes back to work on my rats nest. I eventually, awkwardly, write down four words.

 _My name_ _is Charlotte._


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next couple of weeks, I was able to recover and undo some of what The Governor had done to me. I still had a few issues with my weight, but I was slowly gaining it back, as long as I remembered to eat. My legs were gaining muscle again, but some days I did have to use a can to make sure I had something to support me.

I had also grown closer to some of the residents, old and new, of the prison. Mainly women, but I was getting used to Hershel, the man who seemed to have the most medical knowledge at the moment, and, oddly, a large man named Tyreese. At first he terrified me, but he was actually very gentle around me and spoke in soft tones. I hoped that one day I would be brave enough to want to really call him a friend, but for now, we just spoke when we needed to.

As part of my recovery, Hershel and Carol would help me walk around the perimeter of the prison three times a day. With each of these walks, I noticed that the group here had no idea about the dangers of just having a plain chain link.

I would know, I helped The Governor create the walls that surrounded Woodbury.

" _This is ridiculous!" Philip yelled and threw away this book._

" _Oh come on, Macbeth isn't that bad." I smiled at him._

" _No, no, not this. Just the fence. I thought it would be enough, but the biters seem to be weakening it every day." He began to chew on his thumb nail as he tried to sort out his thoughts._

" _Well," I started, closing my book. "Maybe try something different."_

 _Philip scoffed. "And what do you have in mind?"_

 _I ignored his rudeness, knowing he was just worried about Penny._

" _There was this trick we did with my pet bird when I was growing up. Whenever we wanted him to go to sleep, we put a blanket over his cage and he would calm down and settle in. What if we tried that with the fence? We would need to make it out of some sort of thicker material at this point because of how weak the fence is, but if we work on it in sections, perhaps it could work?"_

 _Philip still chews on his nail, but I can tell he is considering my offer._

" _Hmm, this may work. I'll send some men out tomorrow for materials."_

"Charlotte?"

I jump, startled out of my thoughts. Carol put a hand on my shoulder to settle me.

"You okay?"

I shyly nod my head and tuck one stray strand of my curly red hair away from my face, careful with the bandage that still resides on the left side of my face. I had my hair tied up most of the time, but my shorter strands usually found a way out.

Carol gave me a slight smile. "Well, it's almost lunch time, so if you want to get some while it's hot, best to come now."

I nod and begin following her back. I still have a limp, but it isn't as prominent as it was when I first began my walks.

I get my food and go to my cell where I keep my papers at for communicating, but also for my drawings. Taking small bites, I draw up some ideas to keep the fence up. Getting thick materials like last time would be difficult, and I know no one is itching to go back to Woodbury for resources, so we would need to work from the ground up, which means sectioning off parts.

I decided to work on the northern part, as that seemed to be the part that had the most damage to it. Once the plans were drawn up, I went to find Hershel. He was a part of the council and besides Sasha, the only one who didn't make me nervous.

Hershel, of course wasn't hard to find. He often went outside at one of the tables to get something to drink and read his scriptures. I once asked him why he liked to reread the Bible so much and he told me that it helped him cope with everything that was going on in the world.

"Charlotte. What can I do for you, my dear?" He asks with a smile.

I grin and show him my prewritten note explaining why I felt there needed to be reinforcements to the fence along with my blue prints. Hershel dog ears his page and begins to look over my plans.

After a few moments, Hershel nods. "I will take these to the next council meeting. If Daryl approves, we can start getting this set in motion."

I grin and hug him gingerly. I mouth the words _thank you_. This was of the utmost importance for me if we were to keep this place up, and my lack of voice and being a new comer may cause people to not take me as serious as someone like Hershel.

I am sitting at my table in my cell, finishing up my picture of Carol. I wanted to give it to her as a thank you for helping me out with my recovery. I knew that she was a woman from an abusive relationship, but she never told me outright herself, but I could sense it. Women like us are able to pick each other out pretty well.

A knock at my door frame gets my attention.

I expected it to be Hershel, but instead I get Daryl.

My eyes grow wide and I sat up, my hands in front of me as I wring them together. I let out a quick wave and then put my hand back with my other.

"I know you mean well, but I don't think you should worry about the fence. It'll be a'right."

I furrow my brows at him.

"This next supply run is solely focused on food. We're runnin' low an' needs supplies fast. Can't spend time out looking fer materials."

I point to myself, then at him.

He squints for a second, trying to figure out what I'm saying. I huff and grab a scrap of a page and write down quickly, _I can go with you, get what I need separately_.

Daryl looks at the notes, lets out a puff of air and goes, "Nah, sorry darlin', can't let ya."

 _Why?_

He looks away, then back at me. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think ya can handle it out there. Yer small, injured, and ya can't communicate. If ya were to get hurt, I would be responsible. You're too much of a liability."

Daryl walks away and my blood is boiling.

I understood perfectly where he was coming from, but to call me a liability, that was harsh.

 _I'll show you._


	3. Chapter 3

_Bad idea, Charlotte, very bad idea._

And by bad idea, I was kicking myself over the fact that I hopped into the back of Daryl's truck to spite him. When I had planned it out, it wasn't that bad of a thought, but now that I was acting out my plan, with the only thing hiding my was a thick blanket and crossing my fingers, I was regretting this decision. In the heat of the moment of Daryl insulting me and putting me down, I was determined to show him how wrong he was about me. Or, that was what I kept telling myself as the truck hit another bump and I would be jolted around in the bed.

My stomach grumbled and I quickly placed a hand over it, as if my belly button were my stomachs' mouth and I was trying to quiet down my inner beast that demanded to be fed. I skipped out on breakfast and lunch, both too nervous and forgetful to get food. This was habit I have always had though. The day of my high school graduation, I forgot to eat all of my meals and ate an entire box of spaghetti the next day for lunch.

I smiled faintly at the memory. I was excited to go to college and start a new chapter in my life. Except life had other plans which held me back and then the world ended.

" _What did you plan to go to college for, Charlotte dear?" Philip asked me one day. We had just finished the walls and now had complete coverage of our new home._

 _I hummed. "I had a few ideas I threw around. A mediator in a courtroom, a psychologist, secondary educator, but I had finally settled on botany of all things. I always was a strange duck as grandpa used to call me." I looked at him with a small smile._

" _I think that is a fair assumption." He gives me a wide smile._

" _Yeah. I really got into plants and herbs when grandpa passed away. He and I used to grow all kinds of plants on our farm."_

" _And where was that again?"_

" _Minnesota. Mom got married to a total jerk, but she was so wrapped up in him that when he told us we were moving down to Georgia for his dream career, she went with it. I was only nine so I didn't get much say in the matter."_

 _He chuckled. "No, I suppose not. What was this man's dream job?"_

 _I cocked my head to the side softly. "Going pro in golf."_

The truck finally stopped after an hour and a half. Two doors slammed, indicating Tyreese and Daryl got out. They remained silent as they went forward, the only noise coming from their boots on the ground.

I waited for about five minutes, then poked my head up slightly over the side of the truck bed, looking to see if the coast was clear. Making sure my Gerber knife and machete were secure, on my hips, I hopped out of the bed and searched for my needed materials. I would go light today, just getting some tarps, garden fabric and wooden dowering rods. I hoped to find some long rods, but if they didn't have those, I would have to find another option.

The town we stopped in was tiny, only having one stop light and seemed to have all their stores scattered around. If the buildings were a couple hundred years behind in the times, it would resemble a cliché ghost town.

The hardware store that resided on the edge of the town looked like it had been picked nearly clean. I did find only few rods and one tarp that had a slash, but there were a few rolls of gardening fabric. It would be enough to offer full coverage, but it would work for now.

Twine and zip ties were scarce, as well as rope, but I found some wiring that was bendable and thin enough to manipulate easily. I had to have looked slightly ridiculous with how large of a haul I had with my small arms barely holding everything, but I made it work. Climbing back into the truck, I heard Daryl and Tyreese talking with one another. Scrambling to cover myself and my findings, I held my breath as they got closer. The last thing I wanted was to be caught.

"Found 'nough formula for lil asskicker. Should last a while." Daryl spoke as he got closer.

"Yeah. Karen has been saying that another woman was getting close to her due date, just another couple months. This should help out, too. Although, with how big Judith is, we may need to see if we can find some baby food soon." Tyreese agreed.

I heard one pack get lightly put into the bed, while the other must have gotten thrown because it clocked in dead center in my face, causing me to jerk away with a gasp. I cover my face, slightly seeing stars. _The hell you guys find. Bricks?_

My blanket gets thrown off of me and I stare up at a surprised Tyreese and a pissed Daryl. I slowly drop my hand from my face and let out a slight, awkward wave.

"Charlotte?" Tyreese asks.

Daryl reaches down and grabs my shoulders, pulling me out from the truck bed. I momentarily feel like a toy in a claw machine as gravity no longer appears to be a friend.

"Tha hell ya doin'?! You realize how stupi' ya bein' here is?! Wha' woulda happen if ya got bit?! Ya cain't call out for help!"

" _Should have done what I asked."_

" _Just comply and this will be over."_

" _Too late for you now."_

Daryl let's go of me as if I was a hot iron, causing me to drop to the ground.

"Charlotte, Charlotte. Gotta calm down, girl. You're gonna get us killed."

 _What is he talking about? Daryl was yelling._

Tyreese places a hand over my mouth and picks me up. "Sorry, Lottie. Daryl, let's go!"

I finally realize I was screaming when I take in everything. Tyreese was covering my open mouth that was basically calling in every walker nearby.

I begin to feel lightheaded as my breathing picks up from being manhandled. When I am placed inside the truck, I clock out.

" _It's your fault, you know."_

" _Should have complied when you had the chance."_

"Did you know she could make noise?" Tyreese asks Daryl, Charlotte's head resting on his lap.

Daryl was quiet. "Nah. Didn' know."

 _The fear in her eyes._ Daryl thought as he drove home. _I ain't never seen nothing like it before._


	4. Chapter 4

" _Charlotte, what do you think of these flowers?"_

 _I glance at Penny as she holds out peonies to show me._

" _I like those! I'd say put them in that pot on the corner, okay?"_

 _She nods and skips to the edge of the flower bed. The small strip of the main drag in the town we took over was becoming homier as Penny and I planted flowers and cleaned up some over grown weeds. Philip thought it was a good idea and it would keep Penny away while he assisted in finishing the walls that surrounded our home._

 _Time had flown by, and it felt like a whole other life time when our small group took over the area, seeing great advantages to the location, just a couple months earlier._

 _Penny and I had gotten pretty close. She was lonely without any kids her age around, and from what she and Philip had told me, her mother had died a short while after the outbreak. But, seeing that I was pretty good with kids, she and I quickly got along great. Philip and I had also become good friends as well, but that was strictly all we were; friends._

" _Charlotte!"_

 _I look up to see Shumpert running towards us._

" _What's wrong?"_

" _The fence," he pants. "it fell, biters are crawling all over the place. Philip is working on getting it covered, we gotta get you and Penny somewhere safe though until everything is fixed."_

 _I quickly nod. "Penny, honey, let's go inside!" I begin jogging towards her, despite her not being that far._

" _Look, Charlotte! I got it all done!" Her dirty little hands gently pouring water into the pot, settling the dirt around the innocent flower._

" _That's good dear, but let's go inside okay? Let's get something to drink."_

" _CHARLOTTE DOWN!"_

 _I barely make it away from a dead woman's clutches as she swings for my hair. I go under her arm and kick her knee in half, bringing her down. Taking the metal shovel away from Penny, I jam it straight into the biter's head. I pant and let out a sigh of relief. Meeting Shumpert's eyes, we both give a slight head nod, silently agreeing that it was a close one._

" _Come on Penny, let's go in." I take her hand in mine and we make our way inside our shared house, Shumpert right on our heels._

"Charlotte. Charlotte?"

I groan and open one eye, seeing Maggie loom over me. Her soft hand touching my bare shoulder as she carefully shakes me awake.

"Hey, happy to see you're still alive." She says quietly, her southern accident being a comfort compared to my earlier encounter with an angry southerner.

I reach for my doctors' notepad in my back pocket and make a motion with my hand, indicating I needed a pen. Maggie reached over to the desk and handed me a red pen.

 _What time is it?_

"Past dinner. Daryl and Ty came back with you a few hours ago."

I begin writing another note. _I'm sorry for sneaking into Daryl's truck._

"Hey, it's alright. If we're honest, I think you should have been allowed to go on that run in the first place. But, Daryl got final call on that one. I am curious though. What are the supplies you grabbed for, exactly?"

 _For the fence. We did the same thing in Woodbury when we started building the walls._

Maggie's brow furrows. "You helped build the Woodbury wall?"

 _Not exactly, but I was part of the designing process. I was the one who came up with the idea._

"Despite my hatred for the town, you were smart when it came to the walls. They were secure and easy to maneuver around for keeping watch. Or at least, from what I could tell the couple of times I had been there." She trails off, looking at the wall behind me.

I knew about Maggie and Glenn getting captured. I had heard them when they were next door to my own cell. If I could have been able to help them, I would have tried.

"But, that's enough of that. No point in bringing up old ghosts, right?"

I nod. There definitely was no point.

"So, you have your supplies, you feel well enough to do what you need to do?"

I again nod and get out of bed. I quickly throw on my boots and start to get a move on when I get dizzy from standing up to fast. Maggie helps me regain my balance and I give her a shy smile in thanks for not letting me fall over. Maggie offers to help me with building up fortifications for the fence and I happily accept her assistance. Even though I didn't get as much as I wanted, I would still get quite a bit done with what I did have. With the help of Maggie, we would get this done before the day was over with.

Daryl or Tyreese left my supplies outside next to the picnic tables, making it easy to find everything. Maggie grabbed a hold of the tarps and fabric while I grabbed the wires and rods. Once we got down to where a cluster of biters had begun to form on the outer fence, I first instructed through motions that we put the fabric up first, blocking the view of us from the dead and other outside forces. After placing and fully securing the fabric, Maggie and I did the same thing with the tarps, following along the fences.

"Okay," Maggie started. "We got the fabric and tarp up and secured, what are the rods for?"

I lifted one up and took my knife I had been using to slice wire and began sharpening one end. When I saw Maggie was just sitting there watching me, I lifted up another rod and held it out to her. She chuckled and accepted the rod.

And there we sat the rest of the afternoon into the early evening, sharpening the ends of rods to make spears for the fence.

Daryl sat on a picnic bench, taking a slow drag from his cigarette from a box he had found off a dead guard. He had been watching Charlotte and Maggie working in the fence and making improvements to attempt to keep walkers away.

 _Damn Dixon,_ he thought to himself. _Maybe you should have listened to her._

Although he wouldn't admit it, Charlotte did look kind of scary and a bit of a badass as she stabbed walkers with her homemade spears and worked hard on the fence. Charlotte had proven herself to not need anybody and had some good ideas that would in fact benefit the small community they were slowly growing in the once lifeless prison.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the course of a week, I had accomplished quiet a bit with the fences and getting them into a stable state. The biters had begun to dwindle away from their small hoards, both from the smell that had seeped into the fabric as well as them not being able to see us as if we were otters on display at the zoo. This had made people feel safer, or so I was told by Maggie one night during dinner.

I had also been complimented by Rick Grimes himself. It had been awkward at first, since the last time he and I had a sort of conversation, I was strapped to a chair and was hardly could be classified as a living person. Either way though, the conversation was pleasant and took an unexpected turn.

"Charlotte, ya really have done good work. I've noticed it, the people here have noticed it, and you've really impressed a lot of people here."

Scribbling quickly in my small pocketbook, I reply, _Thank you. I just want to do my part here._

"Well, you certainly have done that. Listen, I don't know if you're aware of this, but people are pushing for you to be a part of the council."

I furrowed my brows. _Why would they want me on the council?_

"Well, they trust ya. You're doing good things here, reinforcing the fences, keeping people calm. You're giving people a chance at a normal life."

I blushed, but quickly wrote down a no thanks.

Rick just nodded in understanding. "I get it. It's not an easy position. Just know that if you change your mind, you'll be accepted."

I gave a quick nod and went back to work on the fences. I would never work on any sort of council again. I couldn't do it.

 _ **THEN**_

"Charlotte, meeting in fifteen." Philip knocked on my door.

"Okay! I'll be right down!" I stop my drawing and close the book. Quickly tying my hair back, I throw on my shoes and begin my descent down stairs. The rest of our makeshift council was already down there and I plopped down next to Philip at the kitchen table. Penny came over and offered us some salami and water and placed whatever wasn't taken in the center of the table.

"Penny dear," Philip said to his daughter softly, "go on upstairs. We're gonna be talking about boring stuff."

"Okay, daddy." As she began to skip off, I stopped her.

"Hey, Penny. I found a new sketchbook if you wanna draw in it. It's on my night stand." I give her a soft smile.

"Thanks, Lottie!" She dashed upstairs to go draw her dad a new picture.

"You're so good to her." Philip whispered to me.

"She's a good kid." I whisper back. We each exchange a smile, then address the other members.

"Supplies have been good lately," Philip started. "But they won't be like that much longer. I have been looking at some maps, there's a small town about twenty miles from here. I'd say we send out a small scavenging party, look for whatever could be there."

"Who would you want to send out?" One man, Luke, asked.

"I already volunteered," I spoke up, "and honestly, with the size of the town, I would say I only need a couple of people coming with me."

"I'll go, I need to get experience out there." An older woman named Hannah replied.

"Count me in," Luke this time, "I've drove truck through the town a few times. I'm familiar with the layout."

"Okay," I tell everyone with a smile. "We have our party together. I think we should also talk about the hoard that is clustering on the north side of the fence. I've been trying to think of ways to keep them from going there. We've already covered it up with landscaping fabric, but I think they are still able to tell we're here."

"From my experience, the smell of us who are still alive can also attract them." Conner inputted, his thick southern accent causing him to draw out his words.

"What would you suggest, then?" Philip asked.

"I'd suggest that we put some biters around the outskirts of the camp. They would cover our scent and possibly keep the biter population down around here."

"That's not a bad plan." Hannah said.

I agreed with the two. "It could be helpful. Philip?"

Philip hummed, thinking about it. "I wouldn't want to have too many around, it may do the opposite. We'll start off with a small amount on the southern side. That side is the most secure and open for us to keep an eye on things. This will be trial run. It works out, we'll start using the biters on the other walls. If not, then at least we tried something."

"Okay," I started. "It's decided. We'll need a few people to volunteer to go out and get some biters. I would suggest we start this experiment after the run, but this is up to all of us."

"I agree with Charlotte." Philip said immediately. "In case anything goes wrong on the run, we need everyone here. After the run, we shall gather up some biters and begin the trial. This sound good?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, it's settled. Charlotte, Hannah and Luke will go out on the run tomorrow. Find anything helpful, food, medicine, ammo, any type of weapon really. If you find something that is more of want instead of a need, you can get it, but keep it light." Our trio all agreed to Philips request.

 _ **NOW**_

I dig a small hole into the ground, only to fill it with a wooden pole to stick it out into the fence. Nodding at my handy work, I move over to my temporary work station that consisted of smaller, long logs with some shorter logs with the ends shaved off to make a sharp tip. I had only done this once, but with all the time in the world, I could work it out, or so I thought. About two hours into my project, I ended up throwing the log I had been attempting to tie up with twine to the longer log onto the ground and fell onto my back with a huff. Laying in the long grass, I watch as the clouds move on slowly as birds lazily fly around in the sky.

"You okay?" A young voice asked me.

Sitting up quickly, I see a younger boy looking at me with a curious look on his face. I couldn't quiet remember his name, but I had seen him working with Rick in the garden before.

Nodding to his question, he starts talking again.

"Well, if you want a break from that, you can help me in the field if you want? Dad went in to get some water for us, so it's just me for the moment."

I ponder for a moment and agree with another nod. Grabbing my dented water bottle, I get up and go with the boy over to the garden. Taking a swig, I begin pulling the weeds and throwing them into a wheel barrow.

"Hey, can you throw some of the tomato plant into this box? I need to feed the pigs."

I throw some of the tomato plant into the box the boy had stretched out to me. He nods and goes to feed the pigs. Wiping some sweat on my brow, I look over at the boy who was feeding the livestock and give myself a small smile then go back to my work.

This place could be a home for me as it was for him.


	6. Chapter 6

Time moves quicker than one thinks when they don't think. That's what my grandpa used to tell me after we had spent hours working in the gardens. Back when I was little, I used to think that time only moved fast when grandpa and I were in the garden because we were too focused on working to notice how much time we were spending in the dirt, but after some time I realized it was because I was _enjoying_ the time being spent in the dirt with grandpa and I loved talking with him, even if he was kinda strange at times. Grandpa was a huge influence in my life despite his flaws.

Much like when I was younger, time was moving quickly here at the prison. Any sign of physical impairment was gone after a couple more weeks, leaving me only the scars that littered my skin from my months of torture underneath Woodbury. Most of the scars were easy to cover up, while others still managed to poke out of my long and quarter sleeve shirts. The longer layers, however, caused me to sweat more, but I was able to keep prying eyes away from my shame.

I had made a couple more friends that were originally from Woodbury, Eileen and Raul. Eileen had come over from Woodbury during her second trimester and she had just entered her third trimester recently. Raul had been one of the men who had worked with Philip, but when the final charge at the prison came, he opted out, protecting the children and elderly.

As the sun beat down on me, I hear Carl take a deep breath. Glancing away from our third, spiked barricade that we had been working on, I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Just got a bad headache is all. Can't shake it off." Carl explains, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, while taking his other to his father's old officer's hat and wiping his forehead. I outstretch my canteen that was strapped to my hip to him, to which he nodded in thanks and took a large swig of water. During his water break I write a note suggesting he goes inside early.

"No, I'm okay. Judith has just been fussy lately. Beth thinks she's teething, so she's been keeping me and dad up lately."

I give him a concerned look, but don't push knowing Carl would rest if he needed it. Since we began working on the garden and the fence together, I've learned that Carl has his moments of slight defiance, mainly targeted towards smaller topics, yet is still a good listener and never pushes himself too hard.

Carl starts talking again. "Are you going on the run tomorrow?"

I nod. I had asked Sasha if I could go along last week, not necessarily for the wall, but just personal supplies. I also just wanted to go past the prison walls now that I was feeling better.

"Well, do you think you could find some coloring stuff? Not for me, but Judith. I know you let her color in some of your sketchbooks, but maybe an actual coloring book would be nice." Carl looks down at the ground, poking the stick he had in his hand into the damp earth. I know he's shy about asking me to grab something that isn't essential, I still find it sweet that he is looking out for his baby sister. Giving the early teen a warm smile, I accept his request.

Tyreese pats my shoulder as he looks down at me, his large form causing a shadow to fall upon my five foot frame. "You ready to do this?"

Of course I was, I have been wanting out since I got the all clear from Hershel.

Loading up into the truck with Tyreese behind the wheel, Daryl took off in front of us on his motorcycle. We were headed into an uncharted area, so Daryl would go ahead and check to see if the path was clear. I didn't mind riding with Tyreese at all, he was extremely kind to me and didn't pity me for what happened. He had told me before about how terrible he felt about me being held under the community and how he hadn't done anything, however I quickly dismissed his anger towards himself. How could he have known? Even the people who knew me before Philip titled himself as Governor didn't know I was down there.

Staring ahead, I see Daryl begin to become smaller as he speeds off to check the road. Things between us had been strained since the last time I went on a run. It was an unofficial run, but it was still a run. I felt bad because I knew I had overreacted, yet I couldn't figure out why Daryl would be skittish around me. Perhaps he felt he had overreacted? Either way, I doubted I would ever find out his reasoning.

As we trekked on, the road had been okay to travel on. There was a group of ten walkers on the road, but we all quickly cleared them out by stopping the vehicles and used our blades and blunt objects. It seemed that whenever the walkers began forming together, it would start out small, but grow into a herd in no time at all, so it was better to rid of them now before their grouping got too out of hand.

Other than the one cluster, we were able to make it to the town easily after three hours of traveling east. We decided to go to the health department first. It wouldn't be likely we would find anything critically helpful, but maybe we could find some smaller items that would be beneficial later on. An example of my thinking was when we found what looked like a secretary turned walker with glasses on. Even if they were just reading glasses, they could help someone out. After grabbing some bottled water from a desk drawer, granola bars, and a couple of first aid kits, we move on farther into the town. Daryl suggests going to the daycare in town to look for some diapers and formula, mentioning how Maggie and him have been successful before with daycares when looking for baby stuff.

We ended up grabbing a box and a half of off brand diapers and three cans of formula. The diapers may be off brand, but that wouldn't be too big of a deal, but I was very thankful that the formula was a good brand. The last thing we needed was to get something cheap and it causes Judith or any other future babies to get sick.

We finally made it to a small drug store. It looked like it had been cleaned out pretty well, but Tyreese still suggested we look and see if we could find anything useful. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything that would be helpful. I took it upon myself to check the feminine hygiene section and see if there was anything that the women at the prison would need. Looking at the tampons and pads made my chest ache, but I quickly attempted to suppress my feelings and shoved the items into my messenger's bag.

"Um, excuse me." A timid, male voice spoke behind me.

I whip around quickly, drawing my machete, gripping the red handle tightly.

"Wait, wait!" The man throws his hands up. "I mean no harm! My name is Caleb, I'm not used to seeing people out here."

As I begin to lower my machete, Tyreese comes barreling around a corner, Daryl hot on his heels. "Hey!" My larger companion shouts. Tyreese comes over to my left, Daryl to my right, both examining the stranger in front of me.

"No, no, please! I didn't mean to frighten anyone! Like I was telling your friend, I'm Caleb. I haven't seen anyone around here in a while and I'm embarrassed to say I was a bit excited to see someone alive." Caleb drops one hand and brings the other to run the back of his neck.

"Uh huh, you just see us and go to the smallest person? That don't add up." Daryl practically snarls.

"Honestly? She seemed to be the less threatening out of all of you." Tyreese and Daryl share a look.

I roll my eyes at the two and grab my note pad with the required questions for entry to the prison already written down. Showing Caleb what I had, I hand it over to him.

"Seriously?" Daryl asks me.

I look at him and give him a single nod. Everything in me was saying that this Caleb guy seemed decent.

Caleb looks at all of us and licks his lips. "I uh, am I supposed to answer these out loud?"

If I could laugh I would. Instead, I give him a small smirk and nod.

"Okay, I've only killed about fifteen walkers. I've only killed one person, and that was because I was unable to save them from a bite."

I look at Daryl, then Tyreese. The two looked to each other, seeming to have a silent conversation, before Daryl tells Tyreese, "Okay, but he's riding with ya'll. You interested in coming with us? We got space, but if you mess up, you're out."

Caleb nods his head excitedly. "Yes! I would love to join you all! Thank you!"

On our way back to the prison, we found out that Caleb had been a medical student who was just finishing up his residency. Caleb had also told us about how he had been at Fort Benning and how he barely made it out when it fell.

Entering the gates of the prison, Tyreese took Caleb with him to show him around while Daryl and I went ahead and brought our findings in. Afterwards, Daryl left me without a word, but I wasn't deterred by his silence. I went on ahead and gave the feminine products to Carol as she seemed to have taken on the role of den mother. She gave me a hug and asked if everything went alright. I responded and wrote out how Caleb introduced himself and his background in medicine.

"Well that's good! Hershel won't be so heavily relied on anymore!" Carol remarked, handing me a plastic cup of water. I nodded and wrote about how he could maybe help out with Eileen when she would go into labor.

After our small conversation, I went on ahead to get my toiletries from my cell. As I headed for the shower, the last person who I thought would want to talk to me came over.

"I got ya this." Daryl spoke quietly, almost in a whisper as he handed me a silver chain. Attached to it on a small loop was a silver whistle. I look up at Daryl surprised.

"I figure if yer going on more runs, ya better have somethin' to alert us if yer in trouble." He said, shuffling his feet.

I look down at the whistle, then back at Daryl. I quickly give him a hug, then let go. I felt my cheeks enflame and I scurry down to the showers to wash off the walker blood from earlier, as well as the redness that had invaded my face.

Daryl had given me something to communicate with. It wasn't a voice, but it was still something.

As Daryl watched the tiny redhead go down the hallway, he felt a blush come on. He hadn't realized he would get a hug from her for just giving her a whistle. Daryl turned and went on down the mess hall, the whole way thinking about Charlotte and how weird she was. It was just a whistle after all.


	7. Chapter 7

I whistle to Carl quietly to get his attention. He had been working so hard all morning, and I appreciated it, but he needed a break. It felt as though the sun was beating down on us harder than usual that day, and it didn't help that the water system that we had in place was failing us. The prison needed a better solution, and it needed to happen fast. I had been serving water at breakfast that morning and a man had grabbed my wrist out of anger when I refused to give him more water. The council was meeting today, and I had agreed to sit in. I was already regretting my decision, but I knew a way to help out when it came to the irrigation.

" _Firehose. If you get a fire hose from one of the fire trucks in town, you'll be able to stretch it from the creek to the pump."_

"Good point," Daryl grunted. "Those hoses go for miles. We'll be able to pull it in farther than the fence. Issue now is how to have continual flow."

I began to write quickly. _"Raul was an engineer before all this. He would be able to create a pump that would give us constant flow. I'll talk to him about all this."_

Hershel nodded. "This sounds like a plan to me."

I went to find Raul to discuss the plans with him to find him with a very pregnant Eileen. Smiling, I went over and sat with the both of them.

"Oh mí bonita! How have you been? Was just talking to Eileen here about if she is ever gonna have the baby."

Eileen rolled her hazel eyes. " _Yes_ I am going to have the baby. Caleb says that I still have another two weeks until my little buddy comes out."

I smile widely at the two as they continue their banter, all the while I write out what was needing to be done for the irrigation system.

Raul looks at the note and agrees quickly. "Yes, I can do this! It's a pretty easy project, bonita. Should have given me something harder."

I stick my tongue out at him as I grab my notebook. I go to stand up when Eileen makes me pause. "Caleb was looking for you." She states. "Not sure why though." I nod and head to where Caleb had set up shop in the infirmary.

I knock on the door and open it when I receive the go ahead from Caleb.

"Ah, Charlotte! Please, come in and have a seat!"

When I do he leans forward in his chair.

"Charlotte. I would like to do something, but I do not want to overstep my bounds and offend you in anyway. I want to help you get your voice back. Granted, I only studied vocal physical therapy once, but I have been brushing up on it and believe that, with some work, I can help you."

I perk up. _"Could you really?"_

"I could try." He took in a deep breath. "In order to know how to start to fix this, I need to know how this happened."

I close my eyes. I knew how this happened, but it is something that I don't like to think about.

I nod, however, and begin to write down how this happened.

 _THEN_

"Please be careful, Charlotte!"

I smile down at Penny. "I always am! I will be back before you know it!"

"Charlotte!" Luke called. "Let's go!"

I begin walking over to the large pickup when Philip grabs my arm. He places a kiss on my cheek and wishes me good luck. I stay quiet and nod as I continue going to Luke. When I hop into the warm seats, Luke is quick to give me a wolf whistle.

"Oh shut it, ya old nut."

"Hey, you caught yourself a good one there!"

I snap my seatbelt into place. "We aren't a thing, and he knows I don't want to be."

"Maybe you should give him a chance. I know you love Penny to pieces."

I agreed. "I do, but that doesn't mean I love Philip to pieces. He is a good friend and that is it." And with that, I looked out the window and stayed quiet until we got to our destination.

Hannah huffed in the backseat. "You should tell him that before he proposes."

As we were coming close to the town Luke had described, we had all decided to go to a department store called "Sharpes". It sounded small, but it would just be our first stop of a few as we looted the town. However, when we got there, all three of us let out a groan. The place was in much more disarray than we thought was what bounced in my brain as we pulled up to the place. Half the building had been burnt down, a gaping hole now resided where the walls once had, exposing everything inside to the elements. As we approached the building, we all saw that the floor was covered in about two inches of water, biters when bullet wounds were scattered everywhere, and that also meant that everything was covered in biter blood.

"Come on," Hannah started. "Let's get this over with. This place is creepy with a capital C."

Scattering, we all went to different corners and agreed to meet back at the front door in 20 minutes.

I grabbed a few items for myself such as underwear and socks, as well as some training bras for Penny. She had come to me after dinner one night that she wasn't feeling too good and asked if she could stay with me. After asking Philip, I grabbed her pillow and blanket and said we would make it into a sleepover. Only about an hour into it, Penny let out a scared scream from the bathroom and cried about how she was bleeding and that she didn't want to have babies.

I quickly got Philip over to my apartment so we could all talk about it.

Knowing that Penny would be developing soon, I grabbed everything she would need for when that happened. I also got boots for Philip and Penny as well as myself. When we had built the wall, it took a lot out of us not only physically, but also with our supplies and the shoes took the worst of it.

Our twenty minutes was up and Luke and Hannah "led the charge", as they called it, to the next building. The words had fallen off for whatever reason, but inside it held hardware and gardening supplies. Most of the store had been cleaned out, but we all still looked around. Knowing that they may come in handy, I grab some metal chains and copper wire and throw them into my tote bag I had brought. I felt like the ultimate doomsday prepper at first, but then chuckled when I realized that was exactly what I was.

"Charlotte! Luke!"

Dropping the tote bag, I book it over to Hannah, gun drawn and safety off. Luke had beat me there and already had someone at gunpoint. "Who are you?" Luke demanded.

"P-p-please. I'm just looking for food, that's all. I haven't eaten in a few days. I meant no harm, I didn't realize people were still here!"

I step forward and lower Lukes' gun. I kneel down and look the woman in the eyes. "Hi, I'm Charlotte. Can you tell me your name please?"

"R-regina." She sniffles, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"Regina, do you have people with you?" I ask calmly. "Are you part of a group?"

Regina shakes her head. "It's just me and Milton. He's unconscious though and I'm scared he won't ever wake up."

I look to Hannah and Luke, then back to the quaking woman in front of me. "Can you tell me where he is? If you do, we will go get him and we can take you both back to our community."

Regina sniffles quieted down as she nodded. Slowly standing up, she began to motion for us to follow. I went first, my little pocket knife in hand, Luke came after me and then Hannah picked up the rear. As we walked, I had a bit of doubt in the back of my mind. Perhaps Regina was just a pawn that was stringing us along until her leader showed up to finish us off. The thought made me hold my knife a little tighter as I followed Regina further into town.

"It's not far," she said. "Our base. Milton fell and struck his head pretty badly. He hasn't woken up in a couple days now."

"Have you been getting fluids into his system?"

Regina looked down at her shoes. "I have tried, but I'm afraid I'm no good at it."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We're here to help, now."

She gave me a grateful look and we continued our walk until Regina told us we were there.

Her "base" was a gas station that looked like it was already in shambles before the fall. The windows were shattered and looked deadly, the door was hanging on by the top hinge, the glass completely gone, the only protection it gave were the metal bars that were welded to the inner edges. I signaled for Hannah and Luke to stay outside with Regina as I went in. Looking around, there was no man in sight. My doubts really crowded my mind, but they were disbanded when I saw a foot.

Getting closer, slowly, I finally saw Milton. He was a slightly shorter man, I could already tell, his fair skin covered in a large bruise on the side of his face. The only thing that seemed slightly okay were the framed glasses that rested on his face. Taking the glasses off gingerly, I begin to shake him slightly and saw his name. Nothing. Checking and finding a pulse, I decide to call in Luke.

"He's alive." I state when Luke enters.

Picking up the man known as Milton fireman's style, I follow Luke out of the gas station. I tell them all that we should head back to the truck so we can get Milton to our physician. Loading Milton into the truck bed, I volunteer to sit in the back with him as to keep an eye on the man and to let Regina have a moment of rest in the truck.

The long trip back seemed to flash by as I suddenly began wondering if Philip would be upset with me for bringing back two outsiders. I hoped he would understand my good intentions and at the least give them time to rest and get better before getting sent back out. Philip had been cautious the last few weeks about outsiders, saying that this world is going to be one that changes people into monsters.

Upon reaching the opening gate, I am filled with slight dread at the sight of Philip with Penny next to him. Penny saw that I was in the back and immediately took off to meet me as I jumped out. Embracing her in a tight hug - and also using her as a shield - I place a kiss on the top of her head.

"Miss me, kid?"

"Of course I did!" Pulling away, I slip on a wide smile as I reach for my bag.

"Got ya some stuff. Go on ahead and take it to my apartment and I will meet you soon."

Nodding, Penny takes off for the tall red building, leaving me alone with her father. I shyly put my hands in the back pockets of my jeans as I look at the ground when Philip comes up to me. "Hey." I say in greeting.

Philip doesn't greet me back. "Who are they? The strangers you three decided to bring back?"

I huff. "The girl is named Regina. Her friend is Milton. From what she has told us, Milton has been unconscious for a couple days. She was going to be all on her own, I wasn't going to let that happen to her, not with this world." I cross my arms and look him in the eyes. "Just let them stay. They're harmless, Philip."

"We'll see."


End file.
